


Irrelevant

by LilySpears



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Gladnis, Mysterious Stranger - Freeform, first attempt at serious fic, the pairing hints are self indulgence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-03-20 12:52:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13718082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilySpears/pseuds/LilySpears
Summary: Running dangerously low on funds and food, Noctis and the chocobros put their journey on hold to become temporary beast hunters.On the way, they meet a mysterious female hunter named Nora. At first she seems unimportant, just one of many people they meet. But, as their paths keep crossing, it becomes apparent her connection to them may go deeper than any of them expected.





	1. Error 404: Gil Not Found...

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my attempt at a serious fic. It's an idea that was bugging me for a while, so I ended up writing it down. The first chapter is fairly vague, mainly because I don't want to reveal too much.

**Irrelevant**

**Chapter 1:**

"Well lads, I'm afraid to say we’re down to our last 100 gil”

Ignis peered over the top of his glasses at his companions, a money pouch resting in his lap. His notebook was grasped in his hand, his pen tapping impatiently on his shoe as he rested his foot on his knee. Once they had set up camp at the Haven, Ignis had sat down to review their finances. It had not been good reading. Not that the others shared Ignis’ concerns. Gladio had briefly looked up before resuming his push ups (one handed, because clearly he needed to show off). Noctis and Prompto hadn’t even afforded him a glance, too wrapped up in playing King’s Knight on their phones. Ignis sighed heavily and placed his foot on the rock, closing his notebook with a sharp snap,

“Did you not hear me?” he asked “We are dangerously low on funds”

“Aw c’mon Specs, it can’t be that bad” Noctis tapped lazily at his phone “So we have to crash at Havens and not rinse out our socks for a few nights, who cares?”

“Dude! I do!” Prompto looked up sharply, a horrified look crossing his features “I am not sharing a tent with Gladio’s unwashed socks, they stink!”

“Oh, like yours smell any better!” Gladio grunted grumpily, trying to glare from his position on the ground,

“I fear we may end up eating our socks if our funds get any lower” said Ignis “No funds means no food”

Noctis froze at Ignis’s words, his fingers hovering over his phone’s screen. He looked over at his advisor; Ignis looked back as he pushed his glasses back up. Noctis grinned and started to chuckle, regaining his composure,

“Yeah right, no food, good one Iggy” he said “Like you would ever let me starve”

“Of course, Astrals forbid you ever attempt to feed yourself Noct” Ignis rolled his eyes “Nevertheless, if you want meals then I will need ingredients, I’m not a magician”

Ignis tucked his notebook and pen back into the inner pocket of his jacket and stood up from his chair, walking to the stove to try and scrape together a meal from their meagre supplies. He chanced a glance at Gladio as he walked past, looking carefully over the rims of his glasses. Gladio had finally finished his little workout. He was sat crossed legged in front of the fire, drinking deeply from a canteen of water with his eyes closed. A fine layer of sweat coated his forehead and arms, giving his skin a shiny appearance in the flicker on the flames. Gladio suddenly opened his eyes; Ignis did his best not to flinch and quickly busied himself chopping vegetables. Gladio smirked a little as he lowered his canteen,

“Something catch your eye, Iggy?” he teased,

“Do not flatter yourself Gladio” Ignis didn’t look up, he only hoped his cheeks weren’t as pink as they felt “I was merely curious as to how you plan to wash before bed when we have no spare water, I’m sure the rest of us don’t wish to hold our breath all night”

His words caught the attention of Noctis and Prompto, both looked up from their phones in sync. Prompto saw Gladio shining in the firelight and immediately grimaced dramatically,

“Aw dude!!” he whined “The tent's gonna smell like wet Gladio all night!”

Gladio glared at the back of Ignis' head briefly before pitching the canteen he had been holding at Prompto’s head. Prompto yelped and ducked behind Noctis, the canteen flew past and hit the rock. It bounced a few times and rolled away, stopping short of falling off the edge. Noctis laughed as he pushed Prompto away from him,

“Scared of a canteen? Really?” he said

“When Gladio's throwing it? Yes!” Prompto pouted “It freaking hurts when he throws shit!”

“Then perhaps you should refrain from provoking him into throwing things?” Ignis suggested from the safety of his stove, a nearby pot steaming as he cooked rice “And while you’re at it, go fetch the canteen from wherever it fell”

Prompto pouted and whined though did as Ignis had asked, peeling himself away from Noctis and heading towards the rock edge. Noctis laughed as he leaned back in his chair, looking at Ignis as he cooked,

“That was mean Specs” he said “You totally set him up just then”

Ignis gave a very small, devious grin as he began serving up the food. It lasted only briefly, his expression quickly turning serious as he expertly balanced the full plates on his arm,

“Merriment aside boys, I must draw our attention back to our lack of funds and supplies” he said, handing out the plates “We need a solution, I suggest taking on a few hunts”

Noctis took his plate from Ignis and immediately grimaced. He ignored his advisor and instead began picking at his vegetables, throwing them into the fire. Ignis sighed heavily, shaking his head as he handed Gladio his plate,

“Please tell me you were listening at least” he said,

“I'm not ignorant like our lovely Prince Charmless over there” Gladio snorted as he began to eat “We'll pick up some hunts in the morning, bash a few heads for bounty, no problem”

“Ooh, head-bashing!”

Prompto suddenly reappeared by the fireside, his eyes sparkling in the flames. He dropped the canteen he had been holding, letting it clatter on the rock a second time. Prompto ignored it and held both hands out to Ignis for his plate. He looked almost childlike, his eyes wide and his mouth stretched in a wide, hopeful grin. Ignis gave the blond his plate of dinner, amusement playing on his lips. Prompto seized the plate and flopped back into his chair, digging in eagerly. Ignis picked up his own plate, his usual mug of Ebony clutched in his other hand. The boys sat in comfortable silence as they ate, the only noise the occasional pop as Noctis continued throwing his veggies into the fire. Ignis gave him a disapproving look but refrained from commenting. He ate a few forkfuls of his rice and sighed. Rather bland, but better than going hungry. Prompto was the first to finish his meal. He held his empty plate and cutlery in one hand and wiped his mouth with the other,

“Mmm, thanks Iggy!” he said “That was great!”

“Yeah, thanks a lot Specs” Noctis leaned ever and slipped his empty plate on top of Prompto's, clearly trying to avoid dish duty. Prompto noticed and immediately shoved both plates towards Gladio. The Shield continued shovelling rice into his mouth, unaware of the others actions. Ignis rolled his eyes and retrieved the dirty plates, knowing full well they would stay there if he didn't,

“Once again I will remind you that washing dishes will not kill you” he said. The two boys didn’t respond. They had pulled out their phones once more, starting up another game of King’s Knight. Noctis shivered a little, feeling a wind chill across the camp. Despite the fire the temperature was rapidly dropping. Noctis paused his game and pulled his jacket tighter, though the action did little to warm him. Prompto was also starting to shiver, his own sleeveless jacket providing even less warmth,

“Man it got cold all of a sudden” he said, rubbing his arms. Gladio snorted from besides him,

“Wuss” he muttered. Prompto suddenly latched onto the larger man's arm and pressed close to him for warmth, his previous disgust over the sweat all but forgotten,

“Much better” Prompto grinned “Thank you, talking furnace”

Gladio grunted and jolted as Prompto seized his arm, the motion causing him to tip his plate and drop rice all over his lap. He glared at the blond and tugged his arm away, making him fall backwards,

“I’m not here to keep you warm” he snapped, starting to pick the rice from his pants before it stuck “Find someone else to cling to”

Prompto pouted at first, rubbing his butt where he had fallen on the rock. He soon perked up again, running over to pulled Noctis from his chair,

“Come on dude, let’s get out of the cold” he said “We can continue our game in the tent”

Noctis nodded drowsily, yawning as he allowed Prompto to drag him wherever he wanted to go. He had been dozing off in his chair, so laying down in his sleeping bag sounded like a good idea. After another yawn he turned, waving at Ignis and Gladio as Prompto fumbled with the tent zipper,

“Night Specs, Night Big guy”

Ignis raised his mug of Ebony and nodded in acknowledgement. Gladio gave a half hearted wave but didn’t look up, still removing rice from his crotch. Prompto finally undid the zip and ducked into the tent, Noctis practically falling face first after him. Ignis watched them disappear and sighed in annoyance,

“Remove your boots when you’re in the tent!” he called out “How many times must I remind you?”

There was a brief silence before two pairs of boots came flying unceremoniously out of the tent, landing in a disorganized heap. Ignis sighed again. Gladio immediately started laughing,

“You act like their mom Iggy” he said, wiping tears from his eyes “Cut the apron strings already”

“I do not act like their mother” Ignis snapped, looking rather huffy “Need I remind you it is my duty to guide and watch over Noctis?”

“Guide him maybe, but do everything short of wiping his ass? Pretty sure that's not in the job description” Gladio put down his empty dinner plate “Not to mention you do the same to Prompto, and you're always cleaning shit”

“I do no such things Gladio” Ignis pushed up his glasses in annoyance and immediately collected Gladio's dirty plate, taking it to be washed. Gladio laughed loudly,

“I'd believe you if you weren’t doing the dishes Iggy” he chuckled and smirked, reaching over to pull a book from his bag “And, I bet when you’re done you’re gonna go tidy the boots over there because I know they're bugging you”

Ignis didn’t respond, staring hard at the plate he was scrubbing  Gladio continued to smirk and opened his book, flipping the pages until he found the dog eared corner that marked his place. Ignis scrubbed harder at the plates, his hands moving so rapidly it was almost like he was going in fast forward (it was a long standing habit of Ignis to furiously clean when he was annoyed). Due to this, he ended up finishing the dishes a lot quicker than usual. Ignis left them to dry and walked to his chair, very aware of the eyes watching him. He knew very well that Gladio was only pretending to read. The man's book was open, but he had yet to actually start turning pages. Ignis grabbed his own bag and fished out a deck of playing cards. He was very fond of card games, either by himself or with a group. The deck he had brought with him was one of his favourites; themed and decorated with portraits of the Astrals. Carefully he slid the worn cards from their box and began to shuffle them, enjoying the soft clicking it made. From the corner of his eye he could just see the pile of boots laying by the tent. Ignis quickly shifted his gaze and shuffled his cards a little faster. He could feel Gladio's eyes still watching him intently; Ignis cleared his throat loudly,

“Come on now Gladio, you’ve been on that page long enough” he began to deal out his cards, setting up a game of Solitare. Gladio chuckled to himself, turning the page of his book slowly. Ignis tried to block him out and laid out more cards, focusing on getting them in straight lines. His neck gave a twinge from being bent so much. Ignis rubbed it and raised his head. The boots once more caught his eye. He tried to ignore them. Really he did. With an exasperated sigh Ignis dropped the rest of his cards and stood up,

“I knew it! You couldn’t resist!” Gladio dropped his book as he burst into laughter, his body shaking. Ignis glared at him before grabbing the offending boots,

“You're an absolute arse sometimes, Gladio” he said, arranging the boots into their appropriate pairs. Gladio sniggered and wiped his eyes, dropping his book on his lap,

“At least I’ll admit I’m an ass” he said, picking up Ignis' cards and reshuffling them “Come on Iggy, come beat this ass at a few rounds of Gin Rummy”

Ignis glared at him for a few seconds before giving in and returning to his chair. Gladio began to deal out the cards,

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s that bad for you to mother Noct so much” he finished dealing and began to sort his cards “I guess sometimes he does needs it”

“I just want what’s best for him” Ignis collected his own hand “And not just because it’s my duty as his advisor”

“Yeah, I get it” Gladio looked thoughtful “But you know, you mother Prompto too”

“Someone has to watch out for him, it may as well be me” Ignis chuckled “Only the Six would know what would happen if I didn't”

“Probably wander off and get lost” Gladio studied his cards, rearranging them a little bit. Ignis began play, switching his cards around expertly. The two began to play, chatting and laughing in the warmth of the fire. Ignis won the first few rounds easily, his previous annoyance now all but forgot. More hands were dealt, the pair were beginning to up the ante. In lieu of gil, which Ignis did not want to waste, they collected and bet any and all trinkets they could find. Gladio was using bottle caps, while Ignis favoured the older coins they had found on their travels. The advisor had accumulated a nice collection of coins and caps, his expression smug as he once again beat Gladio

“I call gin again, I’m afraid” he laid out his hand, showing off all the sets and melds he had made. Gladio gave a loud grunt of frustration and threw his cards down,

“Why are you so damm good at this?” he moaned, surrendering the last of his bottle caps “When I said you could kick my ass Iggy I didn’t mean this hard”

Ignis chuckled and scooped their kitty of caps and coins towards his already overflowing pile, his eyes twinkling in the fire light,

“Card games are mostly about strategy, with a little luck thrown in for good measure” Ignis began sorting his coins, the green of his eyes seeming to glow “As you well know, they do not call me a strategist for no reason”

“Well, you’ve cleaned me out of caps and I don’t think there’s anything else I can bet” Gladio began collecting the cards, being careful not to bend any “Unless you want me to start losing clothes”

“And make you freeze to death? Surely you do not think I am that mean” Ignis tucked the sorted coins away, moving the bottle caps to one side to throw in the trash later “Besides, I believe we're both far too sober for those kind of shenanigans ”

Gladio chuckled lightly and handed Ignis his box of playing cards. He stood up and stretched out, his body aching from being cramped in one position for too long. Ignis placed his cards back in his bag and stood as well,

“Thank you for tonight Gladio, I rather enjoyed our little tournament” he said, smiling as he picked up a small canteen of water to douse the fire. Gladio smiled back, still trying to work out the kinks in his back,

“No problem Iggy” he chuckled “You’ll have to teach me some of your strategies some time”

“What? And reveal all my secrets?” Ignis smirked and tapped the side of his nose “Sorry Gladio, but mum's the word”

Gladio snorted and headed towards the tent, unzipping the flap,

“Figures, g’night Iggy”

“Goodnight Gladio”.

* * *

 

 Next morning the boys were up with the dawn. Three of the four of them were up and packing up camp as the sun rose up on the horizon line. Noctis, as per usual, was still very much asleep. This did not bother the others much, who were by now quite used to it. The young prince was currently slumped in one of the camp chairs, snoring lightly and drooling onto his lap. Prompto watched him and frowned, dropping the sleeping bags he was supposed to be carrying,

“How come he gets to sleep in?” he asked “This doesn’t seem fair guys”

“You know how opposed to mornings our dear Prince is” said Ignis as he packed away their meagre food supplies. Prompto grumbled under his breath and retrieved the sleeping bags from where he had dropped them. The rocks behind them crunched as Gladio climbed back up, returning from carrying the heavy loads to the car,

“We ready to go?” he asked. Ignis nodded and pushed up his glasses,

“Indeed” he said “Just need to wake up Noct”

Gladio sighed and shook his head. He walked over to the chair Noctis was sleeping in, grabbing the smaller man's shoulder and shaking it,

“Wake up Sleeping Beauty” he pinched Noctis’ nose “I’m not carrying you to the car”

Noctis grunted and whined in his sleep, trying to push Gladio away. As he shifted his weight the chair tipped, sending him sprawling onto the rock with a yelp. Gladio burst out laughing, Prompto joining in a few seconds later. Even Ignis was smirking as he folded his arms,

“Very smooth, Noct” he said

“Didn’t mean to do that...” Noctis felt his cheeks burn as he stood up, folding the chair and brushing off his clothes “What’s so important you get me up at the ass-crack of dawn anyway?”

“Hunts Noctis, like we discussed last night” Ignis unfolded his arms and picked up the cooler of food, herding the group away from the Haven and towards the Regalia “We must make haste to the nearest outpost”

The group trudged through the wilderness to the parking spot, piling into the car once they reached it. Ignis started it up and pulled out onto the road, lowering the top to let in the morning sun. The drive to the outpost was rather unremarkable. Noctis fell asleep as soon as he was sat down again, his head flopped forward onto his chest. Gladio read his book, and Prompto alternated from making small talk and taking random photos. In seemingly no time at all, an outpost began to appear in the distance (“Dude! Why didn’t we stay here last night?!” “Because as I keep reminding everyone, we are dreadfully low on funds”). Prompto leaned over the side of the car, watching as the outpost buildings grew closer. He frowned as he spotted an unusual shape outside the diner,

“Huh? What the heck is that?” he straightened up and squinted, trying to figure it out “Looks weird”

“Stop that, you’ll hurt your eyes” Ignis slowed the car and pulled in, parking by one of the gas pumps. Prompto leapt out as soon as they had stopped, running eagerly towards the diner. As he grew closer, he suddenly realized what it was. A black chocobo was sat by the diner doors, snoozing quietly. It’s feathers ruffled slightly as it breathed in and out, a soft chirp escaping it’s beak every now and then. Prompto breathed out slowly, not believing his eyes. A chocobo? At an outpost diner? And, not just any ordinary chocobo. A black chocobo. Weren’t those supposed to be rare? Prompto took a few steps forward, still watching the napping bird. He watched to touch it, to see if chocobo feathers were as soft as they were said to be,

“Prompto! What the hell did you do?!”

Gladio's voice rang out across the diner parking lot. Prompto yelped and jumped, shielding his head with his hands,

“It wasn’t me I swear!” he said, quickly “The chocobo was here when I got here!”

He glanced over his shoulder at the bird, somehow it was still sleeping despite Gladio's shouting. Gladio was still regarding Prompto with suspicion, obviously not believing him,

“Don’t play dumb, chocobos don’t just appear at outposts” he said “You did something”

“My, my, fighting already?” Ignis was now approaching the pair, Noctis walking slowly behind him. Gladio turned quickly, his expression sour,

“Prompto’s wasting time playing with a damm chocobo” he said,

“Hey, I said I had nothing to do with it!” Prompto argued, now starting to grow angry as well. Ignis sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It really was too early for this,

“Its just a chocobo, leave it be so we can attend our business” he said “Besides, it’s probably a rental from a ranch, in case you didn’t notice what it was wearing”

He nodded at the slumbering bird. Nestled in it’s feathers was a worn set of reins, attached at it’s beak and draped over its neck. A worn saddle and packs were strapped to it’s back, the dusty black leather almost blending in. Gladio huffed and strode forward, passing the others and heading into the diner. Ignis and Noctis followed, the latter yawning as he did so. Prompto didn’t move, he was staring at the chocobo again. Those feathers sure did look soft. Prompto grinned and carefully reached out his hand, he paused briefly to look into the diner. The others were stood at the counter, backs to the door. There didn’t seem to be anyone else. Prompto chuckled to himself and moved again, burying his fingers in the chocobo's feathers,

“Ooooh” he rubbed them gently “They are soft”

The chocobo shuddered suddenly and opened one eye, staring at Prompto sleepily. The blond froze, he hoped the bird wasn't going to freak out and make a scene. Thankfully, the chocobo chirped softly and settled back to it’s nap. Prompto sighed noisily in relief, he quickly pulled back his hand and ran inside to join the others. Ignis looked over his shoulder as he heard the blond behind them,

“Nice of you to finally join us” he said, dryly “Did you somehow get lost between the parking lot and the door?”

“No need to be harsh on him, he was just sayin' hello to Rusty”

The voice belonged to a woman sat at the counter; she appeared to be the only other person there. A dark hood covered her head, held in place by a tarnished silver visor shaped like eagle wings. A heavy military coat was draped around her shoulders, the hem and sleeves tattered and torn. The back looked to have once held a pattern, but age had made it almost unrecognizable. Prompto swallowed nervously and stepped forward,

“I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to disturb your chocobo” he said softly. The woman laughed and pushed away the plate of fries she had been eating,

“Don’t worry about It, he’s plenty friendly” she said “You’re just lucky he was napping, otherwise he’d have you there all day scratching him”

She slid from the stool she’d been sitting on, her heavy boots thudding on the floor. Her coat swayed, showing off her stained green pants,

“So, I reckon you guys must be hunters too, if you’re hanging around these parts” she looked them over “Huh, you look kinda fancy to be running around the wilderness”

“We're temporary hunters, in a fashion” said Ignis “It's not our usual profession I assure you”

“Aww, so you’re junior hunters, how adorable” the woman turned to look at the tipster behind the counter, taking out a money pouch from her bag “Here, make sure these boys get a decent meal, can’t have them hunting on empty bellies”

She dropped the money pouch with a small ‘clank' and turned back, heading to the door. She walked with an obvious limp, her left foot hitting the floor heavily. The tipster shook his head at her, taking the pouch and starting to cook more food. Prompto sat at the counter eagerly, Noctis shrugged and sat next to him,

“Sweet! Free food!” Prompto grinned and turned “Thanks chocobo lady!”

Gladio slapped him on the back of the head, glaring. Ignis stepped forward and touched the woman's arm,

“I apologise for my companion's rudeness” he said “May we know our benefactor’s name? Perhaps we may return the favour on our return”

“That's sweet of you, but I’ll be long gone by the time you return ”

The woman turned to look at Ignis, one of her eyes glowed amber under her hood,

“But if you wanna call me something, call me Nora”.

 


	2. Hold your Chocobos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE NOTE: NO CHOCOBOS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS CHAPTER !

**Chapter 2:**

The morale of the boys had increased substantially after their meal. They had all eaten more than their fill, taking advantage of the kindness of their mysterious benefactor. Noctis and Prompto had even taken leftovers, each clutching a bag of fries as they lounged in the regalia in food induced stupors,

"Oh man" Prompto sighed happily from his position in the front seat "That was the best meal I've ever eaten"

Noctis nodded, his eyes closed as he made a small noise of agreement. Ignis frowned out of the windscreen, his grip on the steering wheel tightening ever so slightly,

"We've eaten at those diners countless times" he said "I hardly see what makes this occasion superior"

Gladio gave a little snort, hiding his amused expression behind his book. Ignis glared at him through the rear view mirror. Prompto sat forward in his seat eagerly; his bag slipped from his lap and scattered fries in the foot well,

"This time we ate for free!" he said excitedly "Food tastes the best when you don't have to work or pay for it"

"Hmm, I'll be sure to remember that" Ignis muttered under his breath, continuing to frown at the road as he drove. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so agitated about the diner. A free meal was a rare and unexpected luxury in their current circumstances; more than likely they would not experience it again. Was it really so unreasonable for Noctis and Prompto to enjoy it? Astrals only knew that Noctis needed any little excuse to smile right now. Still, Ignis could not help but be suspicious. Why would a perfect stranger buy them a meal? What was her motive? What did she want from them? The woman had introduced herself as a hunter, but how did they know she was telling the truth? She hadn't exactly been forthcoming with information about herself. Not that Ignis hadn't tried, of course. While the others had been distracted by the food, Ignis had sat at the counter to interrogate the tipster.

Unfortunately it proved to be a very fruitless conversation.

_Ignis watched Noctis and Prompto grab the plates of food offered by the tipster. The pair immediately bounded over to a booth to eat; Gladio picked up his plate and started to follow. He stopped and turned, looking at Ignis expectantly. Ignis nodded towards the booth, telling the shield to go,_

_"I'll be but a moment" he said "Keep them out of mischief for a while?"_

_Gladio nodded in understanding; he picked up the extra meal and walked to the booth as well. Ignis turned back to the counter and sat down quietly in a stool. He immediately called over the tipster,_

_"Ebony" he said as he was approached "Black, please"_

_The tipster nodded and took a clean cup from the shelf above him, at the same time he started up the coffee maker. It hissed loudly, Ignis watched it and frowned deeply,_

_"Gil for your thoughts?" the tipster looked at Ignis as he poured out the coffee "I can almost hear the gears grinding in there"_

_He slid the cup over, Ignis took it gratefully. Steam wafted up lazily from the hot liquid, Ignis watched it curl for a few seconds before blowing it away gently. He took a quick sip, savouring the bitter taste before he spoke,_

_"The woman who was in here before we arrived, Nora was it?" Ignis took another sip of coffee "What do you know of her? "_

_"Nora?" the tipster raised his eyebrows a little "Can't say I know a whole lot, no one does really"_

_Ignis felt his frown return; that was not the answer he was hoping for. It did nothing to curb his suspicion, not to mention he now felt worried. Had Noctis been put into inadvertent danger? Was she targeting them somehow? Ignis gripped his coffee cup tightly. The tipster started laughing softly,_

_"I guess that wasn't the answer you were looking for" he said. He picked up a nearby cloth and began drying the pile of dishes by the sink "Not much is known about her but she is well known; to the hunters anyway"_

_"I'm afraid I don't quite follow you" Ignis looked perplexed; he raised his cup to his lips and drained it. The tipster kindly refilled it once it was back on the counter. Ignis nodded his thanks but didn't resume drinking. The tipster put the coffee pot down and leaned his elbow on the counter,_

_"No one knows where she came from or how long she's been hunting, they just...know her" he said, a thoughtful expression on his face "One week she'll be seen around Lestallum, next she'll be hanging around near Hammerhead, quite the tricky lady to pin down she is"._

_"Surely that would be considered highly suspicious? " Ignis expression remained perplexed, the tipster's words doing very little to reassure him "I was under the impression hunters stayed within their own areas?"_

_"They do, its a very important part of their code" the tipster sighed and straighted up "Many hunters have tried to recruit her, to get her to stay put, but she always finds a way of disappearing"_

_The tipster pinched his lips together after he had spoken; he looked around the diner quickly. Ignis frowned at the man's actions; he wondered if he should be looking around too. The tipster suddenly crouched down, his chin almost touching the counter. He beckoned Ignis closer, his voice now a whisper,_

_"If you ask me, I reckon she's hidin' from something" he said "Why else would she make such an effort to avoid people?"_

_Ignis nodded but did not say anything. His frown only deepened. The tipster nudged him gently,_

_"Mind you, I'm not the only one" he said "You wouldn't believe the rumours I've heard"_

_"What kind of rumours?" Ignis asked, his voice soft and low. The tipster looked around again before replying,_

_"You didn't hear it from me, but... " the tipster's voice somehow dropped lower "They reckon she's a runaway from Niflheim, an army deserter"_

_"What?!" Ignis voice came out loud; louder than he had intended. The coffee in his hand splashed across the counter, the tipster tensed and jumped backwards. There was a clatter from the corner of the diner; Noctis, Prompto and Gladio were on their feet and looking in Ignis' direction,_

_"What happened Specs?" asked Noctis, worry in his voice "You okay?"_

_Ignis' blushed lightly in embarrassment; he plucked his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped at the spilled coffee,_

_"My apologies, merely a brief moment of clumsiness on my part" he said "Some of the coffee splashed my hand, which is why I made that unacceptable exclamation"_

_Noctis and Prompto seemed to accept this explanation; the duo sat down again and resumed eating messily. Gladio remained on his feet, watching Ignis with a questioning look. Ignis slipped his phone from his pocket and quickly tapped out a message. Seconds later, Gladio's phone buzzed. He took it out and checked it,_

**_From: Ignis_ **

_'I assure you I am fine, we shall talk later'._

_Gladio slipped his phone away and nodded at Ignis, though he remained frowning as he sat down. Ignis sighed deeply; he tucked his phone and the now soiled handkerchief back in his pocket,_

_"My apologies for my outburst and for soiling your counter" he pulled out his black leather money pouch and began counting out gil "This should cover the coffee and the information, plus extra for your trouble"_

_He counted out a small neat pile and tucked the pouch away again. Afterwards he nodded respectfully at the tipster,_

_"Thank you very much for your time, conversation and the coffee" he said " It is very much appreciated"_

_"Glad I could help" the tipster smiled and scraped the gil into the pocket of his apron "Hope it was what you were wantin' to hear"._

Ignis shuddered as he remembered the end of his conversation with the tipster. It had certainly not been what he had wanted to hear. Although it was claimed to be mere rumour and speculation, a Niflheim soldier was not what they needed to be associated with right now; ex-army or otherwise. Ignis turned his head to watch the wing mirror; he would certainly need to watch this Nora very carefully from now on. He had a feeling they may be seeing her again despite her words to the contrary. Yes, that would-

"IGGY!! WATCH OUT!!"

Prompto lunged suddenly across the car and seized the steering wheel, a wild look in his eyes. Ignis snapped out of his thoughts with a garbled shout as the younger blond landed in his lap. His foot slammed down violently on the brake, he tightened his grip on the wheel and furiously turned it in the opposite direction; a futile attempt to get it away from Prompto. The Regalia skidded hard along the road with an ear splitting screech,

"What the hell is going on?!" Gladio roared from the back, his hands over his ears. Prompto looked up and tried to speak; there was a sudden squawk and a sickening thud as the car collided with something. A great flurry of black feathers flew up at them; the car shuddered from the impact and jerked to a stop by the edge of the road. The boys ended up sprawled in their seats; several of the airbags had popped and were currently deflating in front of them. Prompto was the first to move, fighting past his airbag and practically vaulting the car door,

"Iggy! You could have killed it!"

The blond ran off behind the car, tears sliding down his cheeks. Ignis didn't react; he stared straight ahead as he tried to process what had just happened. Slowly, carefully, he climbed out of the car; his whole body was shaking badly despite his best effort to hide it. A large hand gently squeezed his shoulder; Gladio had climbed out of the car and appeared behind him. Ignis turned around to face the larger man,

"Gladio.... h-how....is it-" Ignis' words caught in his throat; he sighed heavily and forced himself to look Gladio in the eye "How bad is it?"

"I haven't looked yet Iggy" Gladio rubbed the back of his neck; he turned to look over his shoulder "I doubt its as bad as Blondie thinks, you know how dramatic the kid can be"

Ignis frowned; Gladio's words did very little to reassure him. The advisor gave another heavy sigh and readjusted his glasses, reluctantly he walked back towards the road. A trail of black feathers littered the road and fluttered around in the breeze. Ignis followed them slowly; he could see Prompto and Noctis kneeling by a large black mass on the tarmac. Prompto looked absolutely distraught; tears streamed from his eyes as he spoke desperately to the dark creature. Noctis was doing his best to comfort his friend even though he was obviously rather shocked himself. Ignis hurried over to the boys; the reason for Prompto's distress became immediately obvious. The mass of feathers sprawled on the road was a chocobo. The poor creature looked rather worse for wear; Ignis winced a little as he took in the beraggled patches of feathers and the bird's oddly bent wing, not to mention the scraped leather of the saddle it was wearing. He took a tentative step forward, the chocobo shuddered suddenly and squawked weakly in pain. Ignis jumped at the noise, though he took a small comfort knowing the bird was still breathing. The chocobo squawked again, vainly trying to stand up. Prompto was on it like a shot, stroking its head softly,

"Hey now, you're going to hurt yourself" he said softly "Don't move buddy, we'll help you out"

The chocobo gave a soft chirp, staring at Prompto with one beady eye. It nuzzled into the blond's hand and shivered. Noctis stood up carefully, leaving Prompto with the chocobo as he walked over to Ignis. Gladio appeared almost at the same time, walking up behind them,

"Well, that explains why Blondie was so upset" he said "Iggy nailed a chocobo"

"A complete accident, I assure you" Ignis glared at Gladio, though guilt was clearly visible in his eyes "It leapt out into the road of its own accord, there was nothing I could have done"

Gladio frowned; he looked like he wanted to argue. Noctis gave his shield an unusually firm look, silently telling him now was not the time. The prince put his hand on his advisor's shoulder gently,

"We can point fingers later" he said "Right now we have an injured chocobo laying in the middle of the road, how about we deal with that first?"

Ignis nodded; he couldn't help the little smile of pride at Noctis' calm and sensible approach to the situation. He gently slid his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen to turn it on,

"I shall contact Wiz and explain the situation, I'm sure he will understand" Ignis looked up at Noctis and Gladio "In the meantime, perhaps you two would be able to assist Prompto in getting the chocobo to a safer location?"

Ignis didn't wait for them to answer; he tapped his phone again and raised it to his ear. As he waited for his call to connect he walked back to the car and leaned against it; he crossed his legs and lazily plucked the loose feathers from the upholstery. Gladio looked over at the advisor, his face set in a heavy frown. The shield was worried; Ignis was an exceptionally careful driver and always had been. He transported the prince around after all. As loathe as he was to admit it, Gladio knew Ignis must have allowed himself to be distracted. He had quite a good idea what had distracted him too,

"Hey! Little help here Gladio??"

Gladio turned sharply at Noctis' voice. He and Prompto both had their hands on the chocobo; the bird in question looked liked it was trying to get away. It was desperately trying to stand up, though its legs didnt didn't seem to be holding it up. It gave one more attempt before shuddering and flopping on its side with a disgruntled squawk. Prompto tried to stroke the bird's feathers to comfort it, it moved its head and nipped grumpily at the blond's fingers. Prompto yelped and pulled his hand away, pouting. Gladio chuckled and walked over; he knelt down and ruffled Prompto's hair playfully,

"Don't take it personally kid, if you were laying out in the road after being hit by a car you'd be pissed off too" Gladio lowered his hand and turned to look at the chocobo "Play nice bird, I know you're hurting but we are trying to help"

The chocobo raised its head a little; it gave a soft chirp and stared at Gladio. It stayed like that for a few minutes, looking the shield up and down carefully and blinking. It gave another soft chirp and rested its head on Gladio's bent knee happily. Gladio looked bemused, though he petted the bird's feathers anyway,

"You don't have to play that nice, I already said I'd help you" he said " Come on, try standing again"

Gladio carefully started to move, keeping his hand on the chocobo's head. The bird shakily began to move with him; slowly it pushed itself to its feet. It wobbled a little but managed to stay upright. It immediately began preening its ruffled feathers, very carefully avoiding its injured wing. Gladio sighed and turned to Noctis and Prompto,

"Well, its on its feet" he said, still petting the chocobo absent-mindedly "Now what?"

"I guess we take it somewhere? Specs said it needs to be in a safe location so Wiz can pick it up" said Noctis

"I don't think it belongs to Wiz" Prompto looked at the other two "The only black chocobo he has is that chick we rescued"

"Of course you would know that" Gladio rolled his eyes "Still, I'm sure he'd take it in anyway"

"That is correct" Ignis reappeared at that moment having finished his phone call "Wiz agreed to take it in, provided it doesn't already have an owner"

"Who else but him owns chocobos though?" asked Noctis. The question hung in the air like fog; the four boys looked at each other as they tried to find an answer. Ignis' eyes widened suddenly; his face paling a little,

"Astrals above..." he breathed "I....I think I know who it belongs to"

He slowly walked forward and stood next to Gladio. Gently he reached out to brush the chocobo's feathers,

"Rusty?" he asked " That's your name, isn't it?"

Rusty chirped in recognition of his name, though he looked unimpressed by it. Ignis sighed, he had hoped he had been wrong. He ruffled Rusty's feathers and turned around,

"Back at the diner, we met a hunter who bought us a meal" Ignis looked at the others "If I recall, she had a black chocobo with her called Rusty"

Noctis, Prompto and Gladio all stared at him. They all wore matching expressions of realization and guilt. Noctis visibly winced,

"Great" he said "Someone feeds us all for free and we say thanks by hitting their pet with a car".

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally wrote the next chapter of this thing! *victory dance* As slow as I am, I do intend to carry on with this fix
> 
> I apologize for all the dialogue and Iggy's flashback, it was the only way I could get in the info I wanted. The ending is kinda abrupt but things were getting wordy
> 
> So, now the boys have a chocobo but no hunter. This could be a problem

**Author's Note:**

> And thus do the chocobros meet Nora, the sweet if well guarded beast hunter~ More will be revealed about her as the stoy goes on, though there are some clues already for those eagle eyed readers out there~
> 
> The first bit was self indulgence on my part, hehe~ I strongly believe that Ignis would be a very skilled card player~ After all, a lot of card games require a certain amount of strategy as well as luck~ And as we all know, Iggy is a strategist~
> 
> The game they were playing was a very simplified version of Gin Rummy, which I believe Ignis would be quite good at~
> 
> No pairings, but there will be hints of Gladio/Ignis~ I like the little dynamic they have together, like they're the parents of the group~


End file.
